Angus King on Trump’s Tariffs: ‘You Want to Do These Kinds of Things with a Scalpel, Not a Chainsaw’

Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Sen. Angus King (I-ME) said President Donald Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports “could have long-term ramifications.”

King said, “We don’t live in a static universe. You can’t make a change of this significance and assume that nothing else is going to happen as a result and that is what worries me.”

He continued, “You want to do these kinds of things with a scalpel, not a chainsaw.”

He added, “I think there’s a concern because, as you mentioned earlier, at least as far as anyone can tell, there wasn’t a great deal of consultation outside of the Commerce Department and even there was significant dissent and surprise, as I understand it, within the White House when the announcement was made on Thursday. So there is a concern. I mean this is a very, very important decision and it’s one that could have long-term ramifications and it was announced in this kind of shorthand way.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN

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